President General
National Society Daughters
of the American Revolution

President General Ann Turner Dillon, who has been a DAR
member for 39 years, brings a wealth of experience to
the role of President General of the Daughters of the
American Revolution. Her extensive service record
includes terms as First Vice President General,
Registrar General, Colorado State Regent and National
Chair of the Chapter Development and Revitalization
Commission, among other leadership positions at the
national, state and chapter levels.

Mrs. Dillon leads the 126-year-old women’s volunteer
service organization with a current membership of
185,000, spread across nearly 3,000 chapters in the
United States and abroad. As Chief Executive Officer of
the nonprofit organization, she also oversees a
professional staff of 140 at the Society’s National
Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Her oversight includes
upkeep and preservation of the DAR Headquarters, which
consists of three adjoining buildings, two of which are
designated National Historic Landmarks, occupying an
entire city block near the White House.

“Moving Forward in Service to America,” the theme of the
Dillon Administration, expresses both a continued
emphasis on meaningful service and a commitment to
providing programs and resources that will enable the
National Society’s mission, its members and its historic
buildings to endure and thrive long into the future. A
wide-ranging set of initiatives has been put in place to
help achieve these goals, from new classroom resources
and membership training opportunities that will provide
support and encouragement to teachers and DAR members,
to renovation and restoration projects that will
transform the public spaces at National Headquarters.
DAR members also are challenged to record 19 million
hours of volunteer service to honor the 100th
anniversary of Congress’ passage of the 19th Amendment.

The decision to make education and training a focus of
her Administration underscores Mrs. Dillon’s ultimate
goal. She hopes that DAR members will know more about
the National Society by the end of her term than they
did when it began, and that they will have more
confidence in talking about who DAR members are.

“We are a service organization whose members have proven
their lineage back to a Revolutionary War ancestor,”
said Mrs. Dillon. She wants members to identify with and
take pride in the National Society, an organization that
that awards millions of dollars in scholarships every
year, supports veterans, gives

back to the nation, and preserves priceless historical
records and artifacts that help illuminate our nation’s
shared past. “There are so many reasons to be part of
our organization,” she said.

Mrs. Dillon is the first Colorado Daughter to be elected
President General. “Even though the history of our
Western states postdates the Revolutionary War, members
in those areas still find plenty of opportunity to
promote the history of our country,” Mrs. Dillon said.
“The men and women who stretched America demonstrated
the same independent thinking that created the nation.”

She was also the first woman in her family to join the
National Society, beginning a tradition of membership
that grew to include her mother, aunt, daughters,
granddaughters and cousins. In DAR, she found a sense of
belonging, and of doing meaningful work. Over time, as
she took on more responsibilities, Mrs. Dillon focused
on doing the best job she could while cooperating with
other DAR members. She hopes to foster a similar
attitude in others through the New Horizons membership
training program, aimed at empowering members to take
the next step in leadership.

In 1990, Mrs. Dillon became Organizing Regent of the
still-thriving Toll Gate Creek Chapter in Aurora, Colo.
The experience, which she counts as one of her most
rewarding DAR endeavors to date, taught her that
leadership is not about one person doing all the work,
but rather about building a group that can work
together. It’s a philosophy that informed her subsequent
leadership positions, which included 12 years of service
on the National Board of Management.

Most recently, as First Vice President General from
2013–2016, she oversaw the revision of the DAR Handbook
and National Bylaws and provided guidance on matters
related to the DAR Headquarters staff as chair of the
Human Resources Committee. Mrs. Dillon served as
Registrar General from 2001–2004, a time during which
the National Society embarked upon an ever-expanding
effort to digitize its genealogical and historical
records, thus making them more accessible to
researchers. As Colorado State Regent from 1995–1997,
her State Regent’s Project involved the compilation and
publication of an every member index of Colorado DAR
members.

When Mrs. Dillon is not immersed in DAR work, she enjoys
spending time with her six grandchildren, as well as her
husband, Bill, their two daughters and two sons-in-law.Memberships
* National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
(Honorary
President General)
* National Society United States Daughters of 1812
(former
State President)
* Colonial Society Colonial Dames XVII Century